Search Google Appliance

Arithmetic Teaching Apparatus

Tests

Throughout most of the nineteenth century, teachers tested the progress of students with oral examinations, often held at the blackboard. By the end of the century, more formal written examinations were used in some states to test graduates of academies in high schools and to accredit teachers. A few universities began to offer advanced degrees in education, and faculty there reflected on the history of mathematics education in this country.

At the same time, as the number of students attending school expanded, as high schools began to offer vocational training, and as manufacturing became more efficient, several authors worried about maximizing the efficiency of schools. A variety of standardized examinations were introduced to predict the performance of students, to point up areas where they needed work, and to evaluate school systems.

This test consists of four sheets of paper, printed on both sides and stapled together. Included are directions and 50 multiple-choice questions involving numerical calculations. Answers were to be blackened in on answer sheets so that tests could be scored by machine.

World War I had seen major development of standardized testing in the United States. The new tests developed in World War II did not have as large an impact, although they were widely used. This examination was developed at the War Shipping Administration, a U.S. government agency in business from 1942 until 1946. This example is Form-AC-1.

By the 1960s, when this test was published, employers often gave job candidates standardized examinations. This set of one arithmetic and one reading test was designed particularly for adults with limited basic skills in these areas. According to the test booklets, they were developed by Science Research Associates (SRA), a subsidy of IBM.

The arithmetic index has questions relating to addition and subtraction of whole numbers, multiplication and division of whole numbers, fractions, and decimals and percentages. The reading index tests picture-word association, word decoding, phrase comprehension, sentence comprehension and paragraph comprehension. Answers are multiple choice. The tests and preliminary manual are in a red envelope, which has a mark indicating that they were specimen copies.